State Archives defends fee-for-service revenue and seeks funding path for MDLandRe accessibility

The Maryland State Archives asked the Public Safety, Transportation and Environment Subcommittee on Feb. 27 for clarity and partnership as it grapples with a budget gap tied to online land-records operations and digital-access obligations.

Analyst Elizabeth Wabel told the subcommittee the Archives' fiscal 2027 allowance falls to about $12 million after several budget swaps and deficiencies tied to the pause of a proposed MDLandRe paywall and continuing technology and staffing needs. Wabel noted a projected cost of about $1 million per year to meet new federal web accessibility obligations for public-facing records.

State Archivist Elaine Rice Bachmann said the archives provides dozens of public websites, digitization services and research access, and that fee-for-service revenue supports roughly 20% of operations. "The archives core mission to preserve and make accessible Maryland's public records is getting larger and more complex and cannot be maintained without adequate and sustainable funding," she told the panel.

Bachmann described the MDLandRe controversy last year: a proposed 20-cent-per-page paywall prompted pushback from users and stakeholders, leading the archives to pause the plan and continue exploring other revenue and operational models. She said bulk subscribers historically contributed as much as $400,000'$500,000 per year, revenue that declined in 2024.

Agency staff outlined steps to meet accessibility requirements, including prioritizing the most-used sites, procuring remediation tools and hiring an accessibility officer to manage PDF remediation. The archives is coordinating with the judiciary and the Department of Information Technology to pursue longer-term solutions and is exploring an "on-demand" accommodation approach if a full, immediate compliance solution proves unaffordable.

Shelley Sarker, representing the Maryland State Bar Association, urged inclusion in fee discussions and described pending legislation (SB425/HB576) that would require fee changes by regulation, allow public comment and avoid last-minute budget proposals.

Archivists and committee members agreed on the need for further work and asked the archives to provide detailed usage data, the history of bulk-subscriber revenue, and cost estimates for ADA compliance and long-term hosting and digitization needs.